


Marriage Schmoop

by mansikka



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, Human Castiel, M/M, Marriage, Sam Ships It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-02-04
Packaged: 2018-05-18 01:27:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5892799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mansikka/pseuds/mansikka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>1 x proposal<br/>2 x wearing a ring<br/>3 x birthday presents for a brother-in-law</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Claim

“Marry me, Cas.”

 

Cas looks up at Dean's face in confusion, hands flitting to his lap.

 

When he doesn't answer, Dean clears his throat and asks again.

 

“Marry me, Cas. Please?”

 

He waits only a beat before he starts a speech he's been rehearsing for days. He’s nervous, he feels stupid, and ultimately nothing would change between them whether they were married or not anyway. But Cas... Cas made him feel things, and do things, he’d never imagined he’d find himself doing in his life.

 

He clears his throat. “It makes sense. We've been together longer than I've ever been with anyone in my life. We're happy. You'll finally have an actual last name. You said you wanted human experiences and this is a pretty big one, Cas. It'll make Sam happy - you know how he gets when he gets to organise stuff. We can have a party; you've never had one of those, have you? We get to act normal for a few hours. We'll get rings, so people'll finally stop hitting on you every single bar we go to.”

 

Dean's voice is a little bitter at that, jealousy filling his mouth with bile. But he carries on.

 

“We  _ can  _ now. It's legal and everything and no one can object. Well they can, but not in any way that matters. We can have cake, and I know you won't admit it but I know you like cake more than pie. I still like you, despite that,” he winks, and Cas can't help but smile. Dean grins back.

 

“We can have a honeymoon, an honest to god holiday, just you and me, doing anything you want. We'll... have an anniversary to celebrate instead of some random idea of when we got together.” That's always been a bit vague, because one day they weren't, and another, they just...were.

 

“And you know. All the other stuff.”

 

Cas wrinkles his nose, still smiling. “Other stuff.”

 

“Yeah, Cas. Other stuff.” Dean can't seem to stop grinning. “You. I love you. You make me happier than anything else in this life ever has. And you know. You're kinda stuck with me for life anyway, ring or no ring. So we might as well make it official, don't you think?”

 

Dean looks like he still has a feeling Cas is going to say no. Cas knows every expression of Dean's face, so he can see the uncertainty hiding there beneath the supposed nonchalance of his words.

 

Cas leans forward a little.

 

“It sounds to me very much like you are trying to claim me as yours, Dean.” he says, and there's joy in his voice along with a lot of teasing, which is a skill Dean has only himself to blame for.

 

“Well. Yeah,” Dean agrees, “I guess I am.”

 

Cas leans in more, pressing a kiss to Dean's lips, pulling back with that gummy grin that makes Dean want to give him the world.

 

“Well. That is a pointless task.”

 

Dean's eyebrows raise, and doubt floods his features. Cas winds his fingers through Dean's and he raises their hands together to kiss the back of Dean's placatingly.

 

“Firstly. I  _ am  _ yours. There is no need to claim something that you already possess.”

 

Dean's eyebrows raise a little further at the  _ possess _ , but he nods anyway, nudging Cas to continue.

 

“And secondly,” Cas says, initiating a deeper kiss that leaves Dean a little dizzy before Cas is pulling away unexpectedly, “You're a little late.”

 

Dean's mouth drops open then with a thousand questions, and Cas throws his head back and laughs.  He reaches out, yanking up Dean's t-shirt sleeve and tracing a hand print outline there where one used to be. “You're a little late,” he continues, pressing his hand there and smiling triumphantly, “Because I claimed you first. Long ago.”

 

Dean's mouth stays open in shock, which Cas takes as opportunity to kiss him again. “You are mine, Dean Winchester. As I am yours.”

 

Cas leans into Dean's neck and smiles idiotically, before mumbling into his skin, “Of course I accept. Yes. I will marry you.”


	2. Ring

The case is over; the smell of burned bones filling the air as they look back at the building that had been temporarily home. It had been a good job; the building was now clear of spirit but full of thankful residents singing their praises, unaware they were about to disappear into the night.

 

Cas and Dean posing as a couple to get an apartment had outed the vengeful spirit as it had done numerous times before. They'd pretended to be married so many times now that they joked about their marriage kit; rings, marriage certificate, posed photographs that could adorn any bedside table upon moving in.

 

It was sort of how they'd gotten together in the first place.

 

The first case, Dean had led a nervous Cas into an interview for a housing application, lacing his fingers through Cas' and giving them a reassuring squeeze. He'd chivalrously opened car doors and carried bags, to the point where Cas had accused him of emasculating him. Dean had been so offended that Cas had given him their first public embrace, pressing him back against the Impala, wrapping his arms around him in apology and whispering begs for forgiveness into Dean's neck. Dean had pressed back willingly into Cas, wondering at the feel of Cas'  heart pounding furiously against his chest in mirror to his own.

 

They'd nervously climbed into bed together, Dean laughing it off and reminding Cas they'd shared motel beds before, and that it hadn't been any different. But when they woke the next morning in each other's arms, Dean raising himself sleepily on his elbow to watch Cas slowly surface, he'd felt an odd feeling of completeness.

 

Dean had initiated their first public kiss 'to be authentic'. It had been chaste, but the way Cas irreverently ran a finger over his bottom lip when Dean pulled away just made Dean want to lean in again, and again. He'd gotten what he wanted later that evening when Cas had frowned, huffed, then pressed Dean against the bathroom door and kissed him back, and hard.

 

It was at that moment the first vengeful spirit had come out to play, but from then on, they'd been together.

 

They were shy in the beginning, limited PDA and any kind of intimacy firmly kept behind closed doors. But on a particularly close call on their third case posing as married, they couldn't keep their hands off of each in relief at both being very much alive, and very much together. They'd even received a few catcalls in their direction at their making out like randy teenagers. Cas had peered over Dean’s shoulder at that with a blush to his cheeks and a very proud look on his face.

 

And now, seasoned fake-married couple that they are, stealing food off of each other's plates and finishing sentences, leaning together shoulder to hip with their hands entwined under the table, and being so into each other that even Sam makes vomiting noises, they have successfully caught the bad thing and lived to tell another tale.

 

They walk back to the car now, hand in hand beside a Sam that's rolling his eyes so often Dean keeps asking him if he's possessed. Dean still holds open Cas' door after all this time, and Cas smiles in thanks. Cas is riding shotgun, keeping up the pretence of being a doting husband with Sam sprawled across the back seat as they get ready to leave town.

 

When Dean climbs into his side of the car, he looks over to see Cas staring down at his hand in thought.

 

“You okay?” Dean asks, hand immediately resting on Cas' arm in concern.

 

Cas nods, then rubs at the ring on his finger before looking up at Dean. “I don't want to take it off.” His eyes then glance over at Dean's own wedding band, before looking back up at Dean in hope.

 

Dean looks down, flexing his fingers, then shrugs. “So we don't.”

 

Cas smiles joyfully and leans across the seat to kiss Dean in thanks. They forget themselves as they always do, and after a few minutes Sam is groaning in complaint.

 

Dean pulls away with a grin, mumbles something about keeping his husband happy, then fires the engine up and drives them away.


	3. Family

“Do you want this gift wrapped?” the shop assistant looked over the counter at Sam expectantly. He thought about Cas' face when he received presents, and nodded with a smile.

 

The shop assistant began precise flourishes with tape and paper that made Sam think of origami and his own badly-wrapped gifts given in the past. Gift wrapping was a very good idea, he decided.

 

“This for someone special?” she asked, eyes not leaving the task in her hands.

 

Sam nodded again, realising she wouldn't see, and cleared his throat. “Yeah. My brother-in-law.” It still made him smile to say that, almost as much as it made Dean grin when he referred to Cas as his husband.

 

Dean had taken to marriage, even if it wasn't really a legally witnessed marriage, in ways that Sam had never envisioned. He was no longer the gruff,  _ keep-emotion-away-from-me _ man that he'd grown up with, but he was still definitely Dean. He was simply the happiest version of Dean that Sam had ever seen.

 

Proud to hold his husband's hand, proud to introduce Cas as his husband, proud when people offered their congratulations for them being  _ such a well-suited couple _ . He was affectionate without losing himself, he was happy for Cas to wrap his arms around him in public and lean in for unexpected kisses. He was even willing to look suitably chastised by Cas if he'd done something that he didn't approve of.

 

Sam had called him whipped once, but Dean had silenced him forever on the subject with an enthusiastic and detailed description of what Cas had done to him that morning. Sam hadn't been able to look Cas in the eye for several days after that.

 

Today was Cas' chosen date to celebrate his birthday, and Dean had gone all out. He'd snuck out of bed early, woke Sam to help him string up a ridiculous amount of decorations ready for Cas when he got up. He'd made pancakes, loaded with berries and syrup just how Cas liked. When he'd led Cas bleary-eyed through the bunker, the look on his face was so grateful that Dean's smile had spilled from ear to ear.

 

Dean slid over a small package to Cas who paused mid-fork, mouth forming a grin around his food. He reached out, ripping the paper eagerly to shreds that resembled confetti. His face lit up at the novelty gifts in there; a bee printed tie and bee cufflinks which he held up closer to inspect before leaning in to kiss his thanks.

 

Sam had tactfully removed himself for the morning at Dean's mumbles of 'private birthday gifts for his husband', agreeing to meet them at the arcade Cas had asked to visit. He'd no idea what Cas would want for his birthday and had taken the opportunity to wander aimlessly to find a gift. He knew Dean had brought Cas a Kindle after he'd had a hissy fit when he'd finished the paper copy of Fellowship Of The Ring Sam had given him, and demanded they drive immediately to find a bookstore so he could get the Two Towers. And all the other associated books. So books were officially off his list of possible things to buy.

 

Sam settled on expanding Cas' music collection, having often accused Dean of brainwashing Cas with his own taste. He picked up a wide selection, aiming to give Cas a range from a number of genres, trying to be unbiased with his choices. He also grabbed a couple of pairs of earphones, since Cas always seemed to be tying his into a knot and losing his temper untangling them. Lastly, he found a couple of band t-shirts and smiled, knowing Cas often stole Dean's.

 

He found them side by side on a driving game, yelling stupid insults at one another and laughingly trying to shove each other off of the track. Sam leaned on Dean's car simulator, grinning along with them, cheering Cas on and earning his own insults from Dean in the process.

 

They spent the afternoon at what felt like every game in the arcade, but no one complained. Their sides were almost split with laughter, and all agreed it was the most fun they'd had in a long time. Cas mumbled a thank you against Dean's lips and leaned into his arms for a moment, before stepping away and bumping shoulders with Sam, smiling a very different kind of thanks in his direction.

 

Cas chose dinner. After arguing his point that no one made burgers like Dean and Dean insisting they go out to eat anyway, he'd decided he wanted to try thai. The food was delicious with each of them singing its praises.

 

Dean disappeared at one point, and when he slid back into his seat with a sly smirk on his face, Cas looked at him in a tone that said,  _ I know you're up to something _ . Moments later they heard  _ happy birthday _ being sung, and watched as a cake filled with sparklers and candles was brought to their table. Cas beamed, blowing out the candles in delight.

 

A waiter came over after with a complimentary bottle of champagne. “Whose birthday is it?” he asked, opening it to pour carefully.

 

Dean reached across to clap a hand around Cas' shoulder and smiled wide. “Cas. My husband.”

 

The waiter smiled his congratulations and wished them all a good evening, leaving Dean and Sam to present Cas with his gifts. He was truly childlike the way he opened and admired them, the look on his face saying he couldn't quite believe they were his. He held up one of his t-shirts to his chest and cast a shrewd eye in Dean's direction. “Mine,” he smiled, and Dean raised his hands in mock surrender.

 

The evening passed with more food than they could handle, and just enough alcohol for Cas to be that tipsy kind of affectionate that made Dean grin like he'd won a prize at a carnival.

 

As the evening drew to a close, Sam again offered to spend the night elsewhere to give Cas and Dean privacy. He even suggested they stay in a hotel as a final gift, but Cas refused.

 

“I want to end my birthday at home,” was all he said, and the light it brought to Dean's eyes to hear made Sam bite back all kinds of teasing, storing it up for later.

 

But as they were in separate cars, they said goodbye in the car park, with Dean telling him they'd probably see him in the morning. Again, Sam fought back a smile, pulled Cas into a hug and then turned to his own car, waving a goodnight behind him.

 

On the drive home he called Jody.

 

“You and Donna still coming through tomorrow?”

 

He laughed at her response, looking forward to seeing the surprise on Cas' face when their friends showed up for a dinner he knew nothing about. He wondered where Dean had managed to hide all the ingredients he'd bought to cook with but, figuring his brother was resourceful enough to have planned something out, decided not to give it any more thought.

 

“No, no. They're not with me.” he answered in response to Jody's question, rolling his eyes at the voice over the handsfree, then casting them up to the sky. “He's probably taking Cas stargazing. They have a spot they disappear to sometimes. Seriously. They're disgustingly cute.”

 

He laughed again, trading various stories of the sappy side of Cas and Dean that only few had really seen, promising to repeat the best bits over dinner tomorrow.

 

When he hung up, he breathed deep, and happy, and full of thanks for a really good birthday for his brother-in-law.


End file.
